Audience polling conducted at the 24th annual Acquire or Be Acquired conference in Phoenix on Jan. 29 offered insights into bankers:
Forty-nine percent of bankers at the conference identified themselves as buyers. Just over half the audience (52 percent) said deposits are the most important feature of any bank they would consider for acquisition. Market or geographic location came in second with 23 percent. In another question, 97 percent agreed that deposits will remain an important consideration when identifying acquisition targets through 2018.
Limited growth opportunity is the reason most cited by bankers (46 percent) as the reason for an acquisition. Shareholders seeking liquidity was the second-most cited reason at 24 percent.
When asked to choose between tax reform, regulatory reform, new technology, talent issues and President Trump as the topic their bank’s board will spend the most time discussing this year, technology was cited by 33 percent of the voters; talent was a close second at 32 percent.
Most bankers (84 percent) said they expect small business owners to boost investment as a result of tax reform.
Two-thirds of bankers agreed that customer spending, buying and borrowing habits will improve in 2018 compared to 2017.